Newcastle United’s board has confirmed that chairman Mike Ashley has put the club up for sale.
Ashley is looking to end his costly association with the club and has set a figure of £100m on the relegated outfit.
The club issued an official statement setting a price as Keith Harris, chairman of investment bankers Seymour Pierce, continued his search for buyers.
The statement read: “The board of Newcastle United can today confirm that the club is for sale at the price of £100million.
“Interested parties should contact Newcastle United at admin@nufc.co.uk (or Keith Harris at Seymour Pierce) for further details.
“The club will not be making any further comment at the present time.”
Interested parties are said to be former chairman Freddie Shepherd and a consortium from the Middle East.
It is believed that caretaker boss Alan Shearer will have to wait until Ashley sells the club before he finds out whether he will be appointed as manager on a full-time basis.
Shepherd is expected to appoint the Magpies legend should his bid prove to be successful and Harris can see the advantages of appointing Shearer as boss.
“Shearer is obviously a very charismatic figure in the area and Newcastle need some local interest,” he said.
Shearer, who was appointed on a temporary basis by Ashley with just eight games to go last season, was ultimately unsuccessful in his attempt to save the club from the drop but fans are said to be holding out on buying season tickets for next season until they know who is in charge.
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